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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: bore · ground · date · wound · mine · shower · calf · season

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bore — to drill
  3. season — of the year
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — the earth
  11. shower — to wash
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. date — the fruit
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ground — a position
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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