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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. root — of a word
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. root — the cause
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. clip — to cut
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tear — to rip
  15. clip — a video
  16. cap — of ice
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tear — from crying
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. root — of a plant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — the time now
  24. wax — to grow

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