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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: wave · straw · vault · calf · pitcher · cold · content · temple

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — an illness
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. content — the amount
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — happy
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. content — videos and posts

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