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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rock — a stone
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com