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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kid — child
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. branch — a division

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