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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. vault — a safe
  7. file — a document
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — a subject
  12. file — a tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — for sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. clip — a video
  21. perch — the fish
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lean — to bend

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