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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — after costs
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. net — in sport
  10. bore — to tire
  11. present — the time now
  12. bore — to drill
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. date — the fruit
  19. present — there
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. net — for catching
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. temple — side of the head

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