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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 120 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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — a practice
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stem — to come from
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chest — a box
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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