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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. tear — to rip
  11. season — of the year
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. last — final
  15. tear — from crying
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — completely
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. roll — a list
  24. tear — from crying

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