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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bore — to drill
  7. fine — high quality
  8. hand — help
  9. fine — all right
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bore — to tire
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — in cards
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — farmland

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