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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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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: wax · club · shower · net · cold · stem · fork · calf

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. club — a group
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — an illness
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stem — to come from
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cold — not warm
  16. shower — rain
  17. club — for golf
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. net — for catching
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stem — of a plant

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