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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mine — for digging
  7. swing — in golf
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. swing — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. present — the time now
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kid — child
  18. present — there
  19. present — a gift
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. prune — to trim

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