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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — temperature
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. press — to push
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. press — a publisher
  13. court — of law
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. court — of a king
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bark — to shout

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