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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. can — a tin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — after costs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. net — in sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. can — a tin
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. kid — to tease
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. can — to be able to

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