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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cap — a hat
  8. row — a line
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. object — an aim
  16. court — of law
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cap — of ice
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. roll — a list
  24. row — to paddle

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