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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hand — in cards
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cap — a hat
  14. tube — a container
  15. stem — to come from
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cap — of ice
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hand — help
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. toast — bread

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