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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: press · calf · bay · wound · shower · spring · capital · pit

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. spring — of water
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. shower — to wash
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. shower — rain
  17. press — newspapers
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pit — a hole
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spring — the season
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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