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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. clip — a video
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. can — to be able to
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bore — to tire
  9. can — a tin
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. sharp — clever
  12. chest — a box
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. prune — to trim
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bass — low music
  18. bore — to drill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. can — a tin
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chest — of your body
  24. sharp — exactly

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