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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. sharp — clever
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — the tool
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. court — of law
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. court — for sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. tear — to rip

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