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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — the season
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. file — a tool
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. file — a line of people
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fall — to drop
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rest — what's left
  16. file — a document
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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