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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — to point toward
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bear — the animal
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. face — to confront
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bear — the animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. face — part of the head
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. date — on the calendar

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