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

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. track — a path
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pass — a permit
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. foot — a measure
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. 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