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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — of law
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — for sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wound — an injury

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