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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cell — in biology
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — a video
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — to grow
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — a phone
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. clip — to cut

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