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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fine — all right
  6. bass — the fish
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bass — low music
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fine — high quality
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — for paper

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