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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. charge — a price
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. march — the month
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — music
  9. chest — a box
  10. scale — size or range
  11. shower — rain
  12. charge — electricity
  13. spring — a coil
  14. shower — to wash
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. scale — in music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. spring — of water
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. charge — in control
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — to sink

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