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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rush — hurry
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. drill — army training
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. squash — the sport
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. drill — a practice
  23. squash — to crush
  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