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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — a lid
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kick — in football
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mug — a face
  14. roll — a list
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. mug — a cup
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. roll — a cake
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. prune — to trim

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