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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. foot — a measure
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. plane — a tool
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — for sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spring — of water
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — farmland
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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