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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · chip · ground · field · calf · prune · shower · drill

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chip — to eat
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — army training
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ground — the earth
  11. field — for sport
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — a position
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chair — a leader

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