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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: nail · straw · kid · calf · bear · row · tube · spring

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. tube — a container
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — child
  12. tube — the underground
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. row — to paddle
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spring — of water
  22. row — a line
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — to tease

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