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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 120 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: band · safe · perch · kick · clip · calf · row · spring

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. clip — to cut
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. band — a ring
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spring — the season
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. spring — a coil
  14. row — a line
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. perch — the fish
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kick — in football
  23. band — a music group
  24. spring — of water

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