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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — the season
  4. pit — in a race
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — to cut
  8. game — a match
  9. clip — a video
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. net — in sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. net — after costs
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. game — wild animals
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mate — to breed
  19. net — for catching
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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