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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 116 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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — to cut
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — not warm
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. chair — a leader
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mate — to breed

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