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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. clip — for paper
  6. current — electric
  7. last — finally
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. last — final
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. current — of water
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fork — in a road
  19. current — happening now
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — to go on
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. trunk — of a car

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