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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chair — a leader
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wake — a trail
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spell — letters
  15. net — for catching
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. date — the fruit
  20. net — after costs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. spell — magic

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