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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. club — for dancing
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. root — of a plant
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. net — in sport
  10. mate — a friend
  11. root — the cause
  12. branch — a division
  13. club — for golf
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mate — to breed
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. net — after costs
  19. club — a group
  20. spell — letters
  21. root — of a word
  22. net — for catching
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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