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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cue — a hint
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. shower — rain
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cue — a signal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. season — of the year

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