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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 120 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. root — of a plant
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — a coil
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — for paper
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. root — of a word
  23. clip — to cut
  24. root — the cause

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