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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pitch — completely
  11. suit — in cards
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. suit — clothes
  14. squash — the sport
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. clip — a video
  20. game — a match
  21. suit — to fit
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cap — a lid
  24. calf — a young animal

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