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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: wound · clip · bay · mate · kid · perch · calf · rush

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mate — a partner
  4. clip — a video
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rush — hurry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mate — to breed
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. kid — child
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bay — a horse colour

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