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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. scale — size or range
  6. clip — a video
  7. fork — in a road
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. scale — in music
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bulb — for light
  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