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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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Word bank
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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: kid · cell · calf · shower · press · stock

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — shares
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stock — goods
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone

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