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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · bear · spell · mouse · pitcher · scale · rash · calf

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mouse — the 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