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

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tear — to rip
  3. spring — the season
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — of water
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. tear — from crying
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — a coil
  13. shower — rain
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. shower — to wash

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