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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: lash · clip · band · present · field · ball · calf · date

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. field — for sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — the fruit
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. ball — a dance
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ball — a great time
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. present — there
  24. date — on the calendar

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