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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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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 · wind · degree · face · pound · vault · bound · calf

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pound — a weight
  4. degree — an amount
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — tied together
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bound — certain
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — temperature
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. face — part of the head

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