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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · straw · cell · calf · kid · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. last — to go on
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. last — final
  7. kid — to tease
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. last — finally
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kid — child
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. swing — music
  18. cell — a phone

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