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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 120 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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cue — a hint
  14. drill — the tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. drill — army training
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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