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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: club · face · calf · charge · clip · tear · ground · bay

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. face — to confront
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — the earth
  8. charge — a price
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — crushed
  11. charge — electricity
  12. tear — to rip
  13. club — for dancing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — a video
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. club — a group
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. ground — a position
  20. charge — in control
  21. club — for golf
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. calf — of the leg

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