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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
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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: trunk · march · ground · nail · calf · date · race · clip

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. ground — the earth
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ground — a position
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. date — the fruit
  13. race — the arms race
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. march — the month
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — crushed
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. march — music

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