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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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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: clip · calf · pit · mouse · field · shower · foot · firm

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. firm — a company
  3. pit — a hole
  4. shower — to wash
  5. foot — a measure
  6. clip — to cut
  7. field — farmland
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. firm — steady
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pit — in a race
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — for sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. firm — decided
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. shower — rain
  24. foot — part of the body

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