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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 116 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bass — the fish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bass — low music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. rash — a series
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — a young 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