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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. deal — to handle
  10. march — music
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. clip — a video
  15. fork — in a road
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. clip — to cut
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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