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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · pop · fall · wound · tube · calf · shower · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. pop — to visit
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fall — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. capital — a city
  14. shower — rain
  15. pop — soda
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fall — to drop

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