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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — of law
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mug — a cup
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mug — to rob
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mug — a face
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. court — for sport
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. court — of a king
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — to cut
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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