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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. ball — a great time
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — the tool
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bank — of a river
  9. spring — the season
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cell — in biology
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. spring — a coil
  17. shower — rain
  18. cell — a phone
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — the tool

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