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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — a series
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — rain
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bass — low music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. hand — help

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