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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wax — to grow
  4. face — to point toward
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kid — child
  11. court — of law
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. face — part of the head
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. clip — a video
  17. fork — in a road
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. face — to confront
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. kid — to tease

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