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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 · pitcher · prune · trunk · last · cold · track · suit

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. last — to go on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. suit — in cards
  5. track — a song
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. track — to keep track
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. suit — clothes
  22. track — a path
  23. cold — an illness
  24. calf — a young animal

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