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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. key — in music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — crushed
  7. key — for a lock
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — a position
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. key — the most important part
  16. rule — government
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rule — a law
  23. press — to push
  24. ground — the earth

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