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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. present — a gift
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stem — to come from
  10. present — the time now
  11. clip — a video
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. present — there
  19. drill — the tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — an amount
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. drill — a practice

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