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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rush — hurry
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fork — in a road
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — an amount
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. lash — to lash out

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