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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. season — of the year
  6. tube — a container
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — to tease
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tube — the underground
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. mark — a grade
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. season — in sport
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — child
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. mark — a trace

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