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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: cold · fine · calf · lash · shower · wake · bat · bound

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fine — high quality
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fine — all right
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. wake — before a funeral

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