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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — for paper
  5. board — to get on
  6. file — a tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. board — a committee
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rush — hurry
  15. file — a document
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. face — part of the head
  24. kick — in football

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