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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: calf · cold · cabinet · straw · foot · sharp · last · wind

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — finally
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — to go on
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. foot — a measure
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. last — final
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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