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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. perch — the fish
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — for paper
  13. squash — the sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. squash — to crush
  16. staff — a stick
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. staff — employees
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — a video
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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