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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's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. field — farmland
  12. staff — a stick
  13. toast — bread
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — a subject
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. field — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pop — music
  20. staff — employees
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. pop — soda
  23. clip — to cut
  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