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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. present — there
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chip — to eat
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mate — a friend
  11. present — a gift
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — for sport
  18. chip — for betting
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — a subject
  22. tube — the underground
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — of the leg

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