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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — in music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitch — completely
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. net — for catching
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — in sport

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