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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: field · shower · spell · calf · capital · pop · leaves · lean

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — magic
  5. shower — rain
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. field — a subject
  11. lean — thin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. spell — letters
  22. shower — to wash
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. leaves — to go away

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