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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. kick — in football
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — for paper
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rest — a break
  24. squash — to crush

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