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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — a break
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rest — what's left
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. field — farmland
  11. drill — the tool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. clip — a video
  14. drill — a practice
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — a subject
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rest — what's left
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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