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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — a phone
  7. shower — rain
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. row — a line
  15. key — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rash — hasty
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. key — the most important part
  21. rash — a series
  22. cell — in biology
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rash — on the skin

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