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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. toast — bread
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. date — the fruit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. clip — to cut
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pitch — completely
  23. march — the month
  24. date — on the calendar

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