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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — of law
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. band — a music group
  8. court — of a king
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kid — child
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — a video
  14. kid — to tease
  15. band — a ring
  16. staff — employees
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — for sport

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