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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together 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. shower — to wash
  3. drill — the tool
  4. can — to be able to
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — a practice
  11. can — a tin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. rock — a stone
  19. can — a tin
  20. shower — rain
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. drill — army training
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. clip — for paper

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