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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of 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. degree — temperature
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. drill — a practice
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. object — to protest
  9. kick — in football
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. object — a thing
  13. drill — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. drill — army training
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. degree — an amount
  20. foot — a measure
  21. degree — from a university
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. object — an aim
  24. foot — the bottom

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