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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. file — a line of people
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. prune — to trim
  6. file — a document
  7. court — for sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ground — crushed
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. season — in sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. season — of the year
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. court — of law
  18. file — a tool
  19. pound — a weight
  20. ground — a position
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. prune — to trim
  23. court — of a king
  24. ground — the earth

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