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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ball — a dance
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. season — of the year
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. rash — hasty
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rash — a series
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. ball — a great time
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. jam — in traffic

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