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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — a weight
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — a video
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kid — child
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. lean — thin
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. clip — for paper
  22. board — to get on
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — of the sea

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