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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — a video
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. row — a line
  9. wound — an injury
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a music group
  14. mug — a cup
  15. band — a ring
  16. mug — a face
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mug — to rob
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. nail — for a hammer

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