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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. kid — child
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — a practice
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. season — of the year
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — army training
  18. season — in sport
  19. kid — to tease
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. rash — hasty
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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