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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 120 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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468
Word bank
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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — a gift
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. object — to protest
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — there
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. object — a thing
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. field — a subject
  23. present — the time now
  24. temple — a place of worship

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