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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. season — in sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. season — of the year
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. root — the cause
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. stock — goods
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. shower — rain
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bore — to drill
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stock — shares
  23. root — of a word
  24. bore — to tire

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