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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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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: pop · field · trunk · clip · spring · calf · temple · lash

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. field — farmland
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — the season
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pop — music
  13. clip — a video
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. clip — to cut
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. calf — of the leg

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