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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 116 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. game — a match
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — to trim
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. game — wild animals
  24. hide — to keep secret

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