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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. root — of a plant
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cap — of ice
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bat — the animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. file — a document
  12. root — the cause
  13. stand — to bear
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — the season
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. file — a tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cap — a hat
  22. root — of a word
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a line of people

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