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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. band — a music group
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. band — a ring
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. shower — rain
  11. clip — to cut
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. ruler — for measuring

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