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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. club — for golf
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — to cut
  9. staff — employees
  10. club — a group
  11. wound — an injury
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. club — for dancing
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — happy
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. calf — a young animal

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