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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. field — farmland
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — for sport
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rush — hurry
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — to drop

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