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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pound — a weight
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. key — for a lock
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stem — to come from
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. key — in music
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. key — the most important part
  24. pound — for dogs

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