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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — in football
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. shower — to wash
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mine — for digging
  17. shower — rain
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — in a road
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. mine — belonging to me

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