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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. net — in sport
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — help
  5. net — for catching
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. net — after costs
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — to come from
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. shower — rain
  24. cell — in a prison

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