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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. charge — electricity
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. prune — to trim
  5. charge — a price
  6. spring — the season
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. game — a match
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in biology
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spring — a coil
  20. charge — in control
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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