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

Word bank: deal · calf · chair · cold · march · shower

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. march — the month
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. march — music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. march — the month
  18. deal — an agreement

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