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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kid — to tease
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. content — happy
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. clip — for paper
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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