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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — government
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rest — what's left
  12. key — in music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rule — a law
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. key — for a lock
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — happy
  22. rest — a break
  23. key — the most important part
  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