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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. roll — a cake
  4. toast — bread
  5. chest — a box
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rush — hurry
  9. drill — the tool
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. drill — army training
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. band — a music group
  16. root — of a plant
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a ring
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. roll — a list
  23. toast — the most admired
  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