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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · sharp · shower · calf · land · hide · bowl · wind

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. land — ground
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — to come down
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. shower — rain
  13. sharp — clever
  14. land — a country
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. shower — to wash
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wind — moving air

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