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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — rain
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. saw — the tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. ground — crushed
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. ground — a position

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