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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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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: field · race · calf · band · chip · cold · mate · shower

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. field — farmland
  8. chip — to eat
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chip — for betting
  12. band — a music group
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — a subject
  18. shower — to wash
  19. race — a contest
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — for sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — a friend

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