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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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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: row · tear · ball · fall · track · ground · present · calf

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. row — to paddle
  6. present — there
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ground — the earth
  9. track — a path
  10. ball — a great time
  11. track — a song
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ground — crushed
  20. tear — from crying
  21. track — to keep track
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. calf — a young animal

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