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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: plane · wake · straw · calf · stem · pound · kid · wave

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wake — a trail
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. stem — of a plant

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