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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mug — a cup
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. mug — to rob
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rash — hasty
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mug — a face
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. bark — to shout
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rash — a series

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