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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. date — the fruit
  3. spell — letters
  4. face — to confront
  5. rash — hasty
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rash — a series
  9. shower — rain
  10. spell — a short time
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wax — to grow
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. spell — magic
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. prune — to trim
  23. face — part of the head
  24. prune — to trim

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