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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mine — for digging
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ground — the earth
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ground — a position
  13. vault — a safe
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wake — before a funeral

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