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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cap — of ice
  5. current — happening now
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cap — a hat
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. row — a line
  12. clip — a video
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cap — a lid
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stand — to bear
  19. club — for golf
  20. current — electric
  21. club — a group
  22. clip — for paper
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — to cut

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