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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: shower · cue · key · calf · capital · wind · stock · saw

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. shower — rain
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. shower — to wash
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cue — a signal
  21. stock — goods
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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