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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. deal — to handle
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. file — a tool
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — for paper
  21. prune — to trim
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rest — a break
  24. clip — a video

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