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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. chip — to eat
  12. kick — in football
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mouse — for a computer

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