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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mate — to breed
  3. file — a tool
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rush — hurry
  7. tube — the underground
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. mate — a partner
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pit — a hole
  16. tube — a container
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. plane — an aircraft

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