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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: hand · wound · bore · date · fall · calf · pop · ball

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. fall — the season
  8. pop — soda
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — help
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ball — a dance
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wound — an injury

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