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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. ball — a dance
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a great time
  7. kid — child
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tear — from crying
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — from crying
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — a measure

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