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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. file — a line of people
  5. race — the arms race
  6. file — a tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in biology
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — a weight
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pound — to hit hard

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