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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. fine — all right
  3. root — the cause
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. current — electric
  6. spell — a short time
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. current — happening now
  9. degree — from a university
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. fine — high quality
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. hand — help
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. root — of a word
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. current — of water
  24. root — of a plant

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