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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. squash — to crush
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spring — of water
  19. fine — all right
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bore — to drill
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bore — gave birth

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