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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: field · ground · dip · straw · wound · lean · saw · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — a position
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lean — thin
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. saw — the tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. ground — the earth
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — a subject
  23. lean — to bend
  24. saw — the tool

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