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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rock — music
  8. mark — a grade
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. lean — to bend
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. mark — a trace
  15. tube — a container
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lean — thin
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. tube — the underground
  23. wind — moving air
  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