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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — a stone
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rock — music
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  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