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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — for paper
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pit — a hole
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pit — in a race
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. clip — a video
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — a match
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. lean — thin
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  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