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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. land — ground
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — for paper
  9. track — to keep track
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. scale — in music
  14. track — a song
  15. game — wild animals
  16. spell — magic
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — to come down
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. scale — size or range
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. clip — a video
  24. land — a country

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