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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. clip — to cut
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spring — a coil
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chip — to eat
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. scale — in music
  19. clip — a video
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. row — to paddle

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