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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a city
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pop — music
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pop — soda
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. capital — money
  24. pop — to visit

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