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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — a coil
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. shower — to wash
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. shower — rain
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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