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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. swing — in golf
  5. last — final
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. object — a thing
  8. staff — a stick
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — music
  11. staff — employees
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. object — an aim
  16. last — finally
  17. object — to protest
  18. staff — employees
  19. swing — to play on
  20. clip — a video
  21. dip — to sink
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. clip — to cut

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