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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wound — an injury
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. clip — a video
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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