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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 116 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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. sharp — clever
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. court — of law
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — for sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a ring
  15. shower — rain
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. court — of a king
  24. band — a music group

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