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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. toast — bread
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — an illness
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. date — the fruit
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cell — in biology
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. prune — to trim
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — a phone
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mouse — the animal

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