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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. wound — an injury
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. last — to go on
  7. mate — to breed
  8. degree — an amount
  9. track — a song
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mug — to rob
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mug — a face
  14. degree — temperature
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mug — a cup
  19. prune — to trim
  20. last — final
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — from a university
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. mate — a partner

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