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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spring — a coil
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. craft — a skill
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. craft — boats
  9. snap — to click
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. spring — of water
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spring — the season
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bat — 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