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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — in football
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. march — music
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. clip — for paper
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. calf — a young animal
  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