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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chip — to eat
  6. clip — to cut
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. clip — a video
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bulb — for light
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. chest — a box

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