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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: bass · calf · club · bay · shower · chest · bat · jam

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. club — for dancing
  3. shower — rain
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. bass — low music
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. club — for golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chest — a box
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — to wash
  24. club — a group

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