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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: cell · mate · clip · rule · calf · straw

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — a law
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rule — government

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