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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: calf · racket · snap · current · trunk · clip · land · branch

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. current — electric
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — a country
  5. branch — a division
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — to come down
  11. snap — to click
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. current — of water
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. clip — for paper
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. clip — to cut
  23. current — happening now
  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