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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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a leader
  6. march — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. press — newspapers
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. clip — a video
  20. kid — child
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. press — to push

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