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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. ball — a great time
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spring — the season
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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