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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mug — a face
  3. race — humankind
  4. mug — to rob
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bark — to shout
  17. squash — to crush
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mug — a cup
  23. squash — the sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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