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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — of your body
  6. can — a tin
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. can — to be able to
  9. chip — for betting
  10. can — a tin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chest — of your body
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chest — a box
  21. clip — a video
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. saw — the tool

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