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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. firm — steady
  3. degree — from a university
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. firm — decided
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. row — to paddle
  9. clip — for paper
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — to cut
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. file — a document
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kick — in football
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a line
  23. clip — a video
  24. firm — a company

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