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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mug — a face
  4. craft — boats
  5. mug — a cup
  6. clip — for paper
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — to cut
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mug — to rob
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pit — a hole
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pit — in a race

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