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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. land — ground
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ground — a position
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — to come down
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. file — a line of people

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