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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 120 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: race · pound · charge · staff · clip · field · calf · wake

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — electricity
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — a video
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. charge — a price
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — for sport
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — a subject
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — for paper
  21. race — humankind
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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