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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 120 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. court — for sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — money
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. fall — the season
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — child
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. bank — for money
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a city
  20. bank — for money
  21. kid — to tease
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. plane — a tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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