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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. land — ground
  5. present — a gift
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fork — in a road
  11. present — there
  12. land — a country
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. land — to come down
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mark — a trace
  22. shower — rain
  23. present — the time now
  24. ball — a dance

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