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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. face — to confront
  3. kick — in football
  4. land — ground
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — a video
  11. face — to point toward
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — a country
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — for sport
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. perch — the fish
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. foot — a measure
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — farmland
  24. calf — a young animal

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