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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 120 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: fork · shower · stick · bear · calf · straw · bat · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. clip — for paper
  8. shower — rain
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. clip — a video
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. straw — dry grass

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