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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: shower · straw · rush · present · swing · calf · spell · snap

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. present — the time now
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. present — there
  13. swing — music
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — to wash
  18. swing — to play on
  19. present — a gift
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. shower — rain
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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