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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. clip — for paper
  8. craft — a skill
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — part of the head
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a ring
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — to cut
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. craft — boats
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. prune — to trim
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. band — a music group

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