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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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. roll — on a roll
  4. clip — to cut
  5. degree — an amount
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. roll — a list
  8. object — an aim
  9. last — to go on
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. last — final
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — finally
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. roll — a cake
  23. degree — temperature
  24. temple — side of the head

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