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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.

Make a worksheet

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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. content — happy
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. content — the amount
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. sharp — clever
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. clip — a video
  12. pass — a permit
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. kick — in football
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. clip — for paper
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pass — to spend time

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