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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: pitcher · wake · sharp · spring · shower · saw · kid · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. sharp — clever
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spring — the season
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spring — of water

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