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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — an illness
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cold — not warm
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. firm — decided
  14. snap — to click
  15. firm — steady
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. firm — a company
  19. drill — the tool
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — a leader

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