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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: wound · row · calf · roll · season · cabinet · last · shower

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. season — of the year
  4. roll — a cake
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wound — an injury
  7. roll — a list
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. season — in sport
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — final
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. last — finally
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. last — to go on

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