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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mate — a friend
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. file — a document
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. file — a tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a line of people

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