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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — final
  10. land — ground
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — a country
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. last — finally
  18. deal — to handle
  19. land — to come down
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. calf — a young animal
  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