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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. date — the fruit
  4. last — finally
  5. root — of a plant
  6. last — final
  7. root — of a word
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — to trim
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. prune — to trim
  16. march — the month
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. spring — the season
  19. march — music
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — the month
  22. root — the cause
  23. spring — a coil
  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