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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chest — a box
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — a match
  13. shower — to wash
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. game — wild animals
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. spring — of water
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — the season
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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