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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stock — goods
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — help
  7. cell — in biology
  8. saw — the tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — a phone
  22. hand — in cards
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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