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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. last — finally
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. cap — a lid
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. last — final
  17. rush — hurry
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — for paper

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