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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. clip — a video
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. clip — for paper
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. deal — to handle
  11. staff — employees
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — a division
  15. press — to push
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. staff — a stick
  18. press — newspapers
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pit — a hole
  23. staff — employees
  24. pit — in a race

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