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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 an ace ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. firm — a company
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — a phone
  8. firm — steady
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. mine — for digging
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. branch — a division
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. firm — decided
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mine — an explosive

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