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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bore — to drill
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. capital — money
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. face — to point toward
  12. season — in sport
  13. face — to confront
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. saw — the tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. face — part of the head
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bore — to tire
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. shower — rain
  23. capital — a city
  24. leaves — lets stay

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