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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. band — a music group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fine — all right
  6. net — in sport
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — rain
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fine — high quality
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. net — for catching
  18. stem — to come from
  19. net — after costs
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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