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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. field — a subject
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. season — of the year
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. season — in sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — help
  17. shower — rain
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. shower — to wash
  24. hand — in cards

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