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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — a position
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pass — a permit
  10. row — a line
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — crushed
  13. row — to paddle
  14. lean — thin
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mark — a trace
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mark — a grade
  21. roll — a list
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. ground — the earth
  24. straw — dry grass

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