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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 120 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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lean — thin
  5. file — a line of people
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. clip — for paper
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. file — a document
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. stock — shares
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. craft — boats
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. craft — a skill
  21. file — a tool
  22. stock — goods
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. calf — of the leg

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