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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: leaves · chair · calf · bat · safe · land · shower · last

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. land — to come down
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. land — ground
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. last — to go on
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. chair — a leader
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. shower — rain
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. land — a country
  22. bat — the animal
  23. leaves — to go away
  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