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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pop — soda
  15. band — a ring
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. band — a music group
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pop — to visit
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pop — music

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