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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. track — a song
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — for paper
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tube — a container
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. tube — the underground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pass — a permit
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. leaves — of a tree

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