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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. mug — a face
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. net — for catching
  6. mug — to rob
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — a coil
  9. net — in sport
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. march — music
  13. spring — of water
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. net — after costs
  21. mug — a cup
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — the season
  24. calf — a young animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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