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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kick — in football
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. band — a music group
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — to grow
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — from a university
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — to shout

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