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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. date — the fruit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. court — of law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. season — in sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. court — of a king
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. file — a tool
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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