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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bank — for money
  4. spring — the season
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bank — of a river
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. spell — letters
  12. deal — to handle
  13. spell — magic
  14. bank — for money
  15. tube — a container
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — the underground
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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