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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: calf · lean · cabinet · wind · arm · clip · squash · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — thin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. clip — for paper
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — a video
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. spring — of water
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cabinet — ministers

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