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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.

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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kick — in football
  7. deal — to handle
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. present — there
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. present — a gift
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. present — the time now
  19. row — a line
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — a thrill

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