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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 124 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: hand · shower · cue · stock · tear · calf · coach · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. tear — from crying
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. shower — rain
  15. hand — help
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wake — a trail
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cue — for pool
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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