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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: bound · cap · shower · race · degree · calf · spell · wave

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cap — a hat
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. spell — letters
  7. cap — a lid
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — magic
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spell — a short time
  17. race — the arms race
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. race — humankind
  22. shower — rain
  23. degree — an amount
  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