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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. content — happy
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bore — to drill
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spring — of water
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bore — to tire
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. plane — a tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. content — the amount
  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