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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 116 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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. present — the time now
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. net — in sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — to cut
  12. game — a match
  13. pound — a weight
  14. present — there
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. game — wild animals
  17. net — for catching
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. present — a gift
  21. clip — for paper
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — to hit hard

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