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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — to grow
  7. game — a match
  8. land — to come down
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. current — electric
  11. current — of water
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. land — a country
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fine — all right
  18. shower — to wash
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — ground
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wind — moving air
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — rain

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