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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tube — a container
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — a video
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — of a king
  14. perch — the fish
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — for sport
  23. kick — in football
  24. clip — for paper

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