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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — for paper
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — a break
  14. bass — the fish
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bass — low music
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. perch — the fish
  21. hand — help
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — the tool

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