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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. pop — soda
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. field — a subject
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. object — a thing
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. pop — to visit
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. pop — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. chair — a leader
  24. racket — for tennis

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