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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. track — a path
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rash — a series
  7. track — to keep track
  8. clip — a video
  9. rash — hasty
  10. track — a song
  11. bulb — for light
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — help
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — for paper
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bulb — for light
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. calf — a young animal

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