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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bulb — for light
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. band — a music group
  13. drill — army training
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. net — in sport
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bulb — for light
  18. clip — to cut
  19. band — a ring
  20. stand — to bear
  21. net — after costs
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. net — for catching
  24. bulb — of a plant

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