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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. race — humankind
  3. cold — an illness
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pop — music
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. shower — to wash
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pop — soda
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. capital — money
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. capital — a city
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pit — a hole
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. arm — part of the body

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