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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pop — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. clip — a video
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — not warm
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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