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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fine — all right
  5. cue — a hint
  6. clip — for paper
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. land — ground
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fine — high quality
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. clip — a video
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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