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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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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: cabinet · calf · wind · chip · bat · current · shower · hand

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. current — happening now
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — to wash
  10. current — of water
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. shower — rain
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chip — for betting
  24. current — electric

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