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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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468
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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. row — a line
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chest — a box
  8. present — the time now
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. present — there
  11. kick — in football
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. clip — to cut
  17. present — a gift
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — a match
  22. chest — of your body
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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