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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. shower — rain
  11. race — the arms race
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. drill — a practice
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. race — humankind
  17. row — to paddle
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. dip — a sauce

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