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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — to wash
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — help
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — rain
  13. bank — of a river
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bank — for money
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bank — for money
  20. squash — to crush
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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