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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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. sharp — exactly
  4. vault — a safe
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. clip — a video
  8. mate — to breed
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. dip — to sink
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. clip — for paper
  13. present — there
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. present — a gift
  16. mate — a partner
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mate — a friend
  19. sharp — clever
  20. present — the time now
  21. wound — an injury
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. kick — in football
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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