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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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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: pound · craft · press · fine · shower · calf · cold · fork

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. press — a publisher
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fine — all right
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — to push
  15. craft — boats
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — in a road
  18. craft — a skill
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pound — a weight
  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