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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. field — farmland
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. saw — the tool
  11. root — of a word
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pit — in a race
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. root — of a plant
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. field — for sport
  20. pit — a hole
  21. root — the cause
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. snap — to click
  24. saw — the tool

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