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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cap — of ice
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. spring — of water
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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