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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 120 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: mate · prune · calf · firm · shower · ball · cold · pit

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. firm — a company
  3. mate — a friend
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. firm — decided
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — not warm
  9. firm — steady
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ball — a dance
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pit — in a race
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. ball — a great time
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. calf — of the leg

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