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

Word bank: calf · content · rule · perch · cold · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. rule — a law
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — happy
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. perch — the fish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rule — government

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