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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. fall — the season
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. march — music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spring — the season
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. degree — temperature
  13. march — the month
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — to come from
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. row — a line
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. calf — a young animal

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