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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rush — hurry
  6. snap — to click
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. lean — to bend
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. lean — thin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spell — a short time

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