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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. roll — a list
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. drill — army training
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. prune — to trim
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. last — finally
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. root — of a word
  19. drill — a practice
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. roll — a cake
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. roll — on a roll

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