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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. swing — to play on
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. tube — a container
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bear — the animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tube — the underground
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bowl — to roll

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