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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. swing — music
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bore — to drill
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pound — a weight
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bore — to tire

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