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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spring — the season
  4. foot — a measure
  5. vault — a safe
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rock — music
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wind — moving air
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. spring — of water
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mark — a grade
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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