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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mine — for digging
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rock — music
  10. game — wild animals
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. clip — a video
  14. track — a song
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bound — certain
  21. foot — a measure
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  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