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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: squash · clip · calf · present · cell · drill

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. present — the time now
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — a video
  5. squash — the sport
  6. drill — a practice
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. present — there
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. drill — army training
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. present — a gift
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cell — a phone

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