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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kid — child
  4. last — to go on
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. present — a gift
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitch — completely
  9. object — to protest
  10. last — final
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. object — a thing
  14. clip — for paper
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mark — a trace
  21. present — there
  22. last — finally
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. clip — a video

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