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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — a video
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — to protest
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. object — an aim
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. clip — to cut
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stem — to come from
  24. leaves — to go away

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