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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. staff — employees
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. object — to protest
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mate — to breed
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. band — a ring
  14. staff — a stick
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. object — a thing
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. band — a music group
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. clip — a video

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