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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. ball — a dance
  5. fine — high quality
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ball — a great time
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. clip — a video
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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