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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. drill — army training
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kick — in football
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — for paper
  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