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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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — a song
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. track — a path
  7. kick — in football
  8. stand — to bear
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — to get on
  21. clip — a video
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bat — the 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