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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 116 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: clip · calf · saw · row · staff · land · rule · season

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. clip — a video
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rule — a law
  5. season — of the year
  6. staff — employees
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rule — government
  11. land — to come down
  12. clip — for paper
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. staff — employees
  15. land — ground
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. season — in sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. clip — to cut
  23. staff — a stick
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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