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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. hand — help
  4. spring — of water
  5. shower — to wash
  6. last — final
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pop — to visit
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — a coil
  11. last — finally
  12. hand — in cards
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pop — music
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spring — the season
  24. pop — soda

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