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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. cap — a hat
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bound — certain
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chest — a box
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. kick — in football
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — a video
  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