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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fall — to drop
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cell — a phone
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — rain

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