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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. can — to be able to
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. can — a tin
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hand — help
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. lean — thin
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pitch — completely
  13. clip — to cut
  14. lean — to bend
  15. can — a tin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lie — to recline
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. clip — a video

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