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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 · kick · bore · foot · shower · leaves · degree · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — happy
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bore — to tire
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bore — to drill
  12. degree — an amount
  13. foot — a measure
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. degree — temperature
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. content — the amount

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