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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — to go on
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — for paper
  17. last — final
  18. chest — a box
  19. last — finally
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. leaves — to go away

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