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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. key — for a lock
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. key — in music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. clip — a video
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. season — in sport
  13. mate — to breed
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. scale — size or range
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. land — ground
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. land — a country
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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