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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — there
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. scale — size or range
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — rain
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. present — a gift
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. scale — in music
  17. present — the time now
  18. shower — to wash
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stem — to come from
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

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