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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — help
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. swing — music
  18. row — a line
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chest — a box
  21. rule — government
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. row — to paddle

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