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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. root — of a plant
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. root — of a word
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fine — high quality
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. squash — the sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fine — all right

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