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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. foot — a measure
  10. clip — for paper
  11. field — for sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. kid — child
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. field — a subject
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. staff — employees
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. calf — of the leg

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