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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — of law
  3. band — a ring
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. band — a music group
  7. pass — a permit
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. court — of a king
  12. last — to go on
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. branch — a division

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