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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. swing — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. swing — to play on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — in golf
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. tube — the underground
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. drill — a practice
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ground — a position
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tube — a container
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — crushed
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tube — in a tire

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