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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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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: wind · chair · calf · shower · current · bowl · pit · cell

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. current — electric
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — in a race
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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