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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mate — a partner
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. spring — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. land — a country
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. spring — the season
  14. land — ground
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. land — to come down
  19. mate — a friend
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mate — to breed
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cabinet — ministers

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