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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. shower — rain
  4. cue — a hint
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. land — a country
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — ground
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — the animal
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bulb — for light
  20. land — to come down
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — a box

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