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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. track — to keep track
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. ground — the earth
  7. date — the fruit
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — for paper
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ground — a position
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — a video
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. fall — the season
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ground — crushed
  24. calf — a young animal

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