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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pass — a permit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — army training
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. hand — help
  14. cell — in biology
  15. drill — a practice
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. land — ground
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — to come down
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. drill — the tool

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