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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. spring — a coil
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. lean — to bend
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. tube — a container
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. spring — the season
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — of water
  17. root — of a word
  18. stem — to come from
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. tube — the underground
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. calf — a young animal

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