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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — help
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. staff — a stick
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chip — for betting
  7. root — the cause
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wax — to grow
  13. track — a path
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. track — a song
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. staff — employees
  22. chip — to eat
  23. root — of a word
  24. calf — a young animal

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