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

Word bank: shower · bat · safe · chest · calf · club · rest · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. club — for golf
  5. chest — a box
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bat — the animal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — a break
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. club — a group
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rash — a series
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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