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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wax — to grow
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. row — a line
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. patient — a sick person

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