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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 120 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: coach · mine · mark · calf · pitcher · ground · shower · root

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. root — the cause
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — of a plant
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ground — a position
  19. root — of a word
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mark — a trace

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