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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 116 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. face — to point toward
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. face — to confront
  16. last — final
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — to go on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. last — finally

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