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

Word bank: clip · rest · race · calf · club · date

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. club — a group
  3. rest — what's left
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. club — for golf
  6. date — the fruit
  7. clip — a video
  8. rest — a break
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. clip — to cut
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. clip — for paper
  13. race — the arms race
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. club — for dancing
  16. race — humankind
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. race — a contest

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