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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bound — tied together
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. face — to confront
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. net — after costs
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kid — child
  10. net — in sport
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bound — certain
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. net — for catching
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. clip — a video
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. face — part of the head

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