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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. clip — a video
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. branch — a division
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. board — to get on
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. board — a committee
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  24. bat — for baseball

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