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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ball — a great time
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. row — to paddle
  11. court — of a king
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rush — hurry
  18. court — for sport
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. ball — a dance
  24. row — a line

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