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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: clip · cell · prune · degree · calf · mark · lie · craft

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cell — a phone
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. craft — boats
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cell — in biology
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — a video

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