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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pass — a permit
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fall — the season
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. calf — of the leg

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