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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: spell · mug · calf · shower · tear · pop · spring · bark

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spell — a short time
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mug — to rob
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. spell — letters
  11. pop — soda
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pop — music
  16. mug — a cup
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. mug — a face
  19. pop — to visit
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. shower — rain
  24. spell — magic

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