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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. file — a line of people
  4. clip — to cut
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — a video
  8. march — the month
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bulb — for light
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — music
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. file — a tool
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a document
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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