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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: wind · mark · bat · land · calf · staff · perch · stick

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. staff — employees
  8. wind — moving air
  9. land — a country
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mark — a trace
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mark — a grade
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mark — to pay attention

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