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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fall — the season
  3. mate — a friend
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. file — a tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — to breed
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. band — a music group
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a partner
  14. fine — high quality
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fine — all right
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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