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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. file — a document
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. chip — to eat
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. roll — a list
  9. row — a line
  10. tube — the underground
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tube — a container
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. roll — a cake
  19. file — a line of people
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a tool
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. prune — the fruit

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