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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. stand — to bear
  3. row — a line
  4. shower — rain
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. shower — to wash
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. capital — a city
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. scale — size or range
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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