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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: trunk · last · calf · row · hand · bowl · snap · sharp

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hand — help
  4. last — finally
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. last — to go on
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. last — final
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. row — a line
  18. snap — to click
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — clever
  24. row — to paddle

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