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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 116 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: present · hand · drill · calf · shower · lean · capital · court

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. capital — money
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. drill — army training
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. present — there
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — rain
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. hand — help
  19. present — a gift
  20. drill — a practice
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lean — thin
  23. court — for sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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