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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 120 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: calf · suit · wind · straw · cold · mouse · drill · pitch

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. suit — clothes
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. drill — army training
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — to fit
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — a practice
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pitch — completely
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — a sports field

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