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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. present — there
  13. rash — a series
  14. present — a gift
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. clip — a video
  24. present — the time now

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