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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. track — to keep track
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. track — a path
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bat — the animal
  17. snap — to click
  18. craft — boats
  19. hand — help
  20. track — a song
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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