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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. land — ground
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pitch — completely
  10. last — finally
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — final
  14. bore — to drill
  15. land — a country
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. last — to go on
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. land — to come down
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bowl — a dish

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