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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — a break
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rock — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. rest — what's left
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — a phone
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mark — a grade
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. march — music
  24. cell — in a prison

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