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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cap — a hat
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cap — a lid
  20. land — ground
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. calf — of the leg

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