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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. club — for golf
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. present — a gift
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bulb — for light
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. club — a group
  9. press — newspapers
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pass — a permit
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. present — the time now
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. press — to push
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. press — a publisher
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. present — there

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