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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. band — a music group
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spell — magic
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. band — a ring
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. spell — letters
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stock — shares
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spell — a short time
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. stock — goods
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rush — hurry

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