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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bass — the instrument

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