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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. rule — a law
  3. track — to keep track
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. field — a subject
  9. track — a path
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to click
  12. field — farmland
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. rule — government
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. field — for sport
  21. track — a song
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rest — what's left
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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