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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rash · calf · fork · chair · mine · squash · date · clip

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — a video
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — to cut
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chair — a leader
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. calf — a young animal

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