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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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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: craft · shower · racket · cell · dip · row · kid · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cell — a phone
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. craft — boats
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. craft — a skill
  11. kid — child
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — a line
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. dip — to sink
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. row — to paddle
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — rain

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