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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — a video
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bank — of a river
  6. press — to push
  7. can — a tin
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — the season
  18. press — newspapers

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