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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: present · rest · cell · clip · calf · tear · club · fall

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — a video
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rest — a break
  8. cell — a phone
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. present — a gift
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for dancing
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. rest — what's left
  17. present — there
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fall — the season
  21. present — the time now
  22. tear — from crying
  23. clip — for paper
  24. club — for golf

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