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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: wind · band · racket · shower · sharp · fall · calf · stock

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stock — shares
  8. fall — the season
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. stock — goods
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fall — to drop
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. band — a music group
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wind — to turn a key

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