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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — army training
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. snap — to click
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. drill — a practice
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. drill — the tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. calf — of the leg

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