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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. track — a song
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spell — a short time
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spell — letters
  11. lean — thin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — for paper
  14. track — to keep track
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spell — magic
  20. lean — to bend
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. date — the fruit
  23. track — a path
  24. clip — a video

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