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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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Word bank
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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: fork · hand · leaves · calf · net · straw · cold · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. hand — help
  9. cold — not warm
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fork — in a road
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. net — in sport
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cold — an illness
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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