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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. toast — bread
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ground — crushed
  11. branch — a division
  12. cell — in biology
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kick — in football
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ground — a position
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. calf — a young animal

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