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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. band — a ring
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pop — soda
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cold — not warm

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