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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: ball · foot · chair · pound · object · clip · roll · calf

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. object — to protest
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — a thing
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ball — a great time
  12. foot — a measure
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ball — a dance
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pound — a weight
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. object — an aim

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