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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — soda
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. scale — in music
  7. pop — music
  8. rock — music
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pit — a hole
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. rock — a stone
  23. clip — to cut
  24. hand — part of the body

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