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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. net — for catching
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kid — child
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. land — a country
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. land — to come down
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mate — a friend
  14. net — after costs
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. land — ground
  19. net — in sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. clip — a video
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mate — a partner
  24. kid — to tease

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