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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · calf · rule · kid · cell · prune

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kid — child

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