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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spring — a coil
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. spring — the season
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. club — for golf
  15. degree — an amount
  16. prune — to trim
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. degree — temperature
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. club — a group
  23. spring — of water
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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