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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. net — in sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. shower — rain
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. net — for catching
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. net — after costs

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