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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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. nail — for a hammer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ball — a dance
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bark — to shout
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. clip — a video
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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