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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — a video
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — for paper
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cold — not warm
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  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