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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. cold — an illness
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — not warm

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