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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. row — to paddle
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. row — a line
  5. wax — to grow
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — hasty
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — rain
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. rash — a series
  19. stand — to bear
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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