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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. chest — of your body
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — a measure
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. vault — a safe
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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