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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 · hand · wake

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

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. snap — to click
  6. club — for golf
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. club — a group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — help

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