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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. root — of a word
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chip — to eat
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. chip — for betting
  23. root — the cause
  24. bore — gave birth

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