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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. saw — the tool
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — part of the head
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. band — a ring
  10. mate — a partner
  11. rest — what's left
  12. sharp — clever
  13. face — to confront
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mate — a friend
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — to breed
  18. face — to point toward
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a music group
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rest — a break
  24. band — a rubber band

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