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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. staff — a stick
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chip — for betting
  8. staff — employees
  9. season — of the year
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. saw — the tool
  12. staff — employees
  13. hand — in cards
  14. clip — a video
  15. season — in sport
  16. band — a ring
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. hand — help

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