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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 · board · mine · fall · calf · game · pitcher · net

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — the season
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. shower — to wash
  20. board — a committee
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. net — after costs
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. calf — of the leg

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