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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: date · calf · pop · spring · pitcher · cue · shower · chest

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chest — a box
  4. shower — rain
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cue — a signal
  9. pop — music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. date — the fruit
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cue — a hint
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pop — soda
  19. cue — for pool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pop — to visit
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. shower — to wash

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