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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bore — to tire
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. spell — letters
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. spell — a short time
  17. deal — to handle
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. spell — magic
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bore — to drill
  24. root — the cause

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