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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.

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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: fan · land · last · lie · stand · calf · shower · bound

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — ground
  6. last — final
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. last — to go on
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bound — obliged
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. land — to come down
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. land — a country
  19. shower — rain
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — finally
  24. lie — to recline

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