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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. press — a publisher
  8. club — for golf
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — to cut
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — child
  14. clip — for paper
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. press — to push
  24. mouse — the animal

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