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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — not warm
  4. board — to get on
  5. club — for golf
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. spring — the season
  10. march — the month
  11. season — of the year
  12. march — music
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. club — a group
  15. march — the month
  16. season — in sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spring — of water
  19. board — a committee
  20. club — for dancing
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — to wash
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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