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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. track — a song
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bark — to shout
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. cold — an illness
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. track — a path
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wake — a trail

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