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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 120 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: deal · shower · coach · chip · calf · last · bat · object

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. last — finally
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. last — to go on
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. object — to protest
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. last — final
  16. object — a thing
  17. chip — to eat
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. shower — rain
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chip — for betting
  22. object — an aim
  23. deal — to handle
  24. shower — to wash

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