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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — army training
  4. season — of the year
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cue — for pool
  11. fall — the season
  12. kid — child
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — to wash
  17. season — in sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cue — a signal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cue — a hint
  23. prune — to trim
  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