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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. root — of a plant
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — a trail
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. root — the cause
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a word
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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