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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rest — what's left
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bulb — for light
  7. object — to protest
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. roll — a list
  10. rest — a break
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. object — a thing
  13. drill — army training
  14. pop — soda
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — an aim
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pop — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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