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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. object — a thing
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bank — for money
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. clip — for paper
  13. roll — a cake
  14. object — to protest
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — a practice
  17. object — an aim
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. drill — army training
  22. bank — of a river
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. fork — a garden tool

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