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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. chair — to sit on
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. shower — rain
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. lie — to recline
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chair — a leader
  20. date — the fruit
  21. season — of the year
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lie — an untruth
  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