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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. file — a line of people
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. file — a tool
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. hand — in cards
  15. file — a document
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bore — to drill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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