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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: last · race · pit · capital · calf · stick · shower · wave

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. race — a contest
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. last — final
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. race — humankind
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. capital — a city
  14. last — to go on
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — rain
  17. capital — money
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. last — finally
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pit — in a race
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. calf — a young animal

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