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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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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — a video
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rule — a law
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rule — government
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rule — to rule out
  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