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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — to trim
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. date — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mine — for digging
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — from crying
  18. staff — employees
  19. fall — the season
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tear — to rip
  23. staff — a stick
  24. prune — the fruit

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