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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: nail · hide · cold · pit · saw · straw · chip · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. chip — to eat
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chip — for betting
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — an illness
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. saw — the tool
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. pit — in a race

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