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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 124 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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mark — a trace
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. ground — a position
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — to trim
  16. march — music
  17. ground — the earth
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — the season
  20. fall — the season
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ground — crushed
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. prune — the fruit

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