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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. object — to protest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. object — an aim
  6. wind — moving air
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — for catching
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. object — a thing
  13. content — happy
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. wind — moving air
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. net — after costs
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — the amount
  22. clip — a video
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cell — in biology

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