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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. degree — temperature
  5. foot — a measure
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kid — to tease
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. clip — a video
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. kid — child
  24. cold — not warm

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