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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. can — to be able to
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cold — not warm
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — letters
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. prune — to trim
  20. march — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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