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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bear — the animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mine — for digging
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — of the year
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. season — in sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bulb — for light
  24. trunk — of a tree

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