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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · tube · shower · straw · branch · patient · degree · prune

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tube — a container
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. degree — an amount
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. branch — a division
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — temperature
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — the underground
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. prune — the fruit

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