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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 · kid · foot · track · content · bass · calf · dip

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. kid — child
  4. dip — to sink
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — to tease
  9. track — a path
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. shower — rain
  16. content — the amount
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. track — a song
  19. content — happy
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bass — the fish
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. track — to keep track

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