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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. season — in sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — to wash
  11. row — a line
  12. season — of the year
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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