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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — rain
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chest — of your body
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — size or range
  13. row — a line
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — in music
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bat — the animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — a quarrel

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