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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 · calf · ground · clip · race · bat · plane

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. present — there
  4. clip — a video
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. race — a contest
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — humankind
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ground — a position
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. ground — crushed
  22. present — the time now
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rest — a break

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