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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. shower — rain
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bound — obliged
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cold — an illness
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cell — a phone
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chest — of your body

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