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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: calf · last · bore · present · chest · shower · wound · net

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bore — to tire
  3. chest — a box
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. present — there
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. net — after costs
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — to drill
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. last — finally
  15. present — the time now
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. net — in sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. present — a gift
  20. net — for catching
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. last — to go on

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