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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — the season
  4. root — of a word
  5. race — a contest
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — low music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. root — the cause
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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