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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. snap — to click
  3. face — part of the head
  4. degree — from a university
  5. face — to point toward
  6. swing — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. swing — in golf
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. march — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — clever
  20. face — to confront
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. swing — to play on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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