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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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Word bank
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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kick — in football
  7. spell — a short time
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. key — the most important part
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. saw — the tool
  21. key — in music
  22. band — a music group
  23. spell — letters
  24. key — for a lock

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