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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 · kick · club · calf · march · trunk · bore · pitch

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. club — a group
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. march — the month
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bore — to tire
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. shower — to wash
  17. march — music
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bore — to drill
  20. shower — rain
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. march — the month
  24. club — for golf

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