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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: object · clip · prune · track · chest · press · calf · last

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. last — final
  5. chest — a box
  6. prune — to trim
  7. track — to keep track
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — to go on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — finally
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. clip — for paper
  14. object — to protest
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. object — a thing
  18. track — a path
  19. press — a publisher
  20. clip — a video
  21. object — an aim
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. track — a song

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