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

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cap — of ice
  6. clip — to cut
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cap — a lid
  10. clip — a video
  11. tube — a container
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spring — of water
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — in a tire
  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