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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. march — music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bat — the animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. file — a tool
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — a video
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — in an idiom

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