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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. shower — rain
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chest — a box
  8. cell — in biology
  9. squash — the sport
  10. lean — thin
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cell — a phone
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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