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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. land — to come down
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mate — a friend
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — a subject
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mate — a partner
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — ground
  24. cell — in biology

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