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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pop — soda
  5. present — there
  6. season — of the year
  7. race — a contest
  8. face — to point toward
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. season — in sport
  17. race — the arms race
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pop — music
  21. rash — a series
  22. present — the time now
  23. race — humankind
  24. season — to add flavour

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