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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. net — after costs
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — child
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. last — finally
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. kid — to tease
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — final
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. jam — in traffic

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