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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: toast · bat · bear · cap · kick · pitch · clip · calf

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. cap — of ice
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. clip — a video
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kick — in football
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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