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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. current — electric
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. object — to protest
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. scale — in music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. current — happening now
  13. scale — size or range
  14. object — an aim
  15. current — of water
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mine — for digging
  20. object — a thing
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. calf — a young animal
  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