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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — a trail
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. root — of a word
  8. bear — the animal
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. root — the cause
  12. shower — rain
  13. present — the time now
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to click
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. field — farmland
  18. present — there
  19. bear — the animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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