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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: temple · shower · wound · clip · mug · pitcher · stand · calf

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mug — a face
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. clip — a video
  6. mug — to rob
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — rain
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mug — a cup
  14. shower — to wash
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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