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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. clip — to cut
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a line of people
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. scale — size or range
  10. present — the time now
  11. drill — the tool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. ground — the earth
  14. present — there
  15. drill — a practice
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. drill — army training
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ground — crushed
  23. clip — a video
  24. present — a gift

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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