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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — in football
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — rain
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. net — after costs
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. net — for catching
  24. calf — a young animal

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