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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. capital — money
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wax — to grow
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. clip — a video
  20. pit — in a race
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. firm — decided
  23. capital — a city
  24. squash — to crush

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