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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 120 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: bank · shower · spring · leaves · court · patient · calf · craft

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. court — for sport
  4. bank — for money
  5. shower — to wash
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. craft — a skill
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. shower — rain
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. spring — of water
  13. court — of a king
  14. bank — for money
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bank — of a river
  21. craft — boats
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — of law
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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