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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 120 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. kick — in football
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — the animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. shower — rain
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. drill — a practice
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. dip — to dunk

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