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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: calf · game · kid · rock · last · cold · prune · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rock — a stone
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. last — to go on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. game — a match
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — final
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rock — music
  23. last — finally
  24. cold — not warm

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