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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. root — of a word
  3. spell — letters
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ground — a position
  6. branch — a division
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. ground — crushed
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — to come down
  11. club — a group
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. club — for golf
  14. root — of a plant
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. land — ground
  19. root — the cause
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. land — a country
  23. ground — the earth
  24. branch — of a bank

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