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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — to breed
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rule — government
  5. mate — a partner
  6. last — final
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. track — a song
  9. land — ground
  10. track — to keep track
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rule — a law
  16. land — to come down
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. track — a path
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — of your body
  24. last — finally

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