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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. prune — to trim
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cue — a signal
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. board — a committee
  12. spring — the season
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — to get on
  17. spring — of water
  18. cue — for pool
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cue — a hint
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wind — moving air

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