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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 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. scale — in music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cap — a lid
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cap — of ice
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cap — a hat
  9. clip — for paper
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. club — for golf
  15. content — happy
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kick — in football
  19. club — a group
  20. lean — thin
  21. content — the amount
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. clip — a video
  24. scale — size or range

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