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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 116 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. saw — the tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tear — from crying
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — to rip
  21. clip — a video
  22. tear — from crying
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ball — a dance

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