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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. spring — the season
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. clip — to cut
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — a video
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. squash — the sport

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