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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. race — humankind
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. file — a tool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. file — a document
  20. chair — a leader
  21. race — a contest
  22. squash — the sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spring — a coil

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