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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bank — for money
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bank — for money
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. cell — a phone

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