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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stand — to bear
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. chest — a box
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chest — of your body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bark — of a tree

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