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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. prune — to trim
  11. object — a thing
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — an illness
  15. degree — from a university
  16. object — an aim
  17. net — after costs
  18. object — to protest
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — the season
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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