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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — a video
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ball — a great time
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. pound — a weight
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — an explosive

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