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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: clip · hide · kid · mouse · pass · bat · spell · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spell — letters
  4. kid — to tease
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pass — a permit
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — child
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pass — to spend time

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