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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. track — to keep track
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. track — a path
  18. bore — to tire
  19. ball — a great time
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. object — an aim
  22. clip — a video
  23. object — a thing
  24. track — a song

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