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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — in cards
  3. scale — in music
  4. pound — a weight
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. staff — employees
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. staff — employees
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — help
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. 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