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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pop — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. clip — a video
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pop — soda
  18. shower — rain
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pop — to visit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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