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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ground — a position
  3. bore — to tire
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lean — thin
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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