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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. court — of law
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — a path
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spring — the season
  17. track — a song
  18. court — for sport
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cold — an illness
  21. track — to keep track
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. calf — of the leg

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