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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a document
  7. press — to push
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wake — a trail
  13. file — a tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. kick — in football
  17. press — newspapers
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cue — for pool
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cue — a hint

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