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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. scale — in music
  7. mug — a face
  8. scale — size or range
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. clip — to cut
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — a cup
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. mug — to rob

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