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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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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: temple · tube · wound · file · foot · clip · straw · calf

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wound — an injury
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a line of people
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. foot — a measure
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a document
  24. tube — a container

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