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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. degree — temperature
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. last — to go on
  6. degree — an amount
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — a video
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. track — a song
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. degree — from a university
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. last — finally
  22. track — a path
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. track — to keep track

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