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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. court — of law
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — not warm
  18. prune — to trim
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — in music
  22. court — of a king
  23. key — for a lock
  24. fan — a supporter

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