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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: shower · plane · wind · calf · pop · staff · row · tear

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. staff — employees
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. plane — a tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — to visit
  12. staff — employees
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pop — music
  15. staff — a stick
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. row — a line
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — to paddle
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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