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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. file — a line of people
  9. swing — to play on
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. file — a document
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. content — happy
  17. swing — in golf
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. content — the amount
  24. fall — the season

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