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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — a box
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bore — to drill
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bore — to tire
  24. fan — to cool the air

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