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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wax — to grow
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. vault — a safe
  22. scale — in music
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. scale — for weighing

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