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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chip — for betting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — to cut
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — a video
  10. staff — employees
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bat — the animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mine — for digging
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. staff — employees
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. perch — for a bird

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