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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — in sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — to cut
  11. season — of the year
  12. clip — a video
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. foot — a measure
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. calf — of the leg

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