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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. dip — to sink
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. shower — rain
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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