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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. band — a music group
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stem — to come from
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. band — a ring
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — in golf
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. rule — a law
  15. swing — music
  16. rule — government
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. court — of a king
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. swing — to play on

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