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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. net — for catching
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. net — after costs
  16. file — a document
  17. net — in sport
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. prune — to trim

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