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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: tear · leaves · march · shower · squash · calf · capital · bear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bear — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — a city
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. march — music
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — to rip
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. capital — money
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — to crush

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