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

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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. rash — a series
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — from a university
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. firm — steady
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — decided
  18. fan — a supporter

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