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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · shower · snap · calf · club · kick

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cold — an illness
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. club — for golf

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