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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cell — a phone
  7. land — to come down
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. spring — the season
  11. cell — in biology
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spring — of water
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. spring — a coil
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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