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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. present — a gift
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. file — a line of people
  9. vault — a safe
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. present — there
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — the time now
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — the animal
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. file — a document
  18. bank — of a river
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. file — a tool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. calf — a young animal

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