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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: shower · calf · wave · capital · chair · plane · pitcher · hand

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — help
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. shower — rain
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. plane — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. hand — in cards
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. capital — a city

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