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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pound — a weight
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — in football
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cold — an illness
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. key — in music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pound — for dogs

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