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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. saw — the tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fall — to drop
  11. present — the time now
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wake — a trail
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. saw — the tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fall — to drop
  24. present — a gift

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