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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cold — not warm
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. scale — in music
  11. deal — to handle
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cold — an illness
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pop — music
  24. calf — a young animal

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