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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fall — to drop
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cap — a hat
  18. shower — rain
  19. pass — a permit
  20. kick — in football
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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