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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a great time
  3. net — in sport
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. fall — to drop
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. ball — a dance
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. net — after costs
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mark — a trace
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. prune — to trim
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — a grade
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fall — the season
  23. pop — music
  24. prune — the fruit

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