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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.

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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. present — the time now
  4. land — a country
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — a contest
  9. present — a gift
  10. key — for a lock
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. press — to push
  14. clip — to cut
  15. key — in music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. press — a publisher
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. land — to come down
  21. key — the most important part
  22. present — there
  23. press — newspapers
  24. race — humankind

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