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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: face · current · fork · prune · field · calf · degree · clip

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. face — to point toward
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. clip — a video
  9. degree — from a university
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — to cut
  14. face — to confront
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — electric
  18. field — farmland
  19. current — of water
  20. prune — to trim
  21. face — part of the head
  22. clip — for paper
  23. field — for sport
  24. current — happening now

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