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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. track — a path
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. date — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bound — tied together
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. track — to keep track
  19. rash — a series
  20. game — a match
  21. rash — hasty
  22. track — a song
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bound — certain

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