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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ground — a position
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — crushed
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. shower — rain
  15. ground — the earth
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mine — for digging

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