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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cap — a lid
  3. craft — a skill
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — not warm
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. file — a line of people
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. file — a document
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. craft — boats
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a tool
  24. prune — to trim

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