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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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468
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: safe · hand · racket · cold · fall · scale · shower · calf

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — rain
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. scale — size or range
  13. hand — in cards
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hand — help
  16. shower — to wash
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. scale — in music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fall — the season
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fall — to drop

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