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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. clip — to cut
  3. game — wild animals
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. pass — a permit
  7. firm — steady
  8. game — a match
  9. band — a ring
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. firm — decided
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. firm — a company
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. snap — to click

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