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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — a line
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wax — to grow
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cap — a hat
  18. chip — to eat
  19. saw — the tool
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. saw — the tool
  24. sharp — exactly

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