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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stand — to bear
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — for dancing
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. shower — rain
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. club — a group
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. calf — of the leg

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