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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mug — a cup
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mug — to rob
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. last — to go on
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — rain
  13. mug — a face
  14. file — a line of people
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — final
  21. file — a document
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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