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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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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. clip — a video
  5. fall — the season
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. clip — to cut
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cue — a hint
  15. hand — help
  16. fall — to drop
  17. track — a song
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cue — a signal
  21. mine — for digging
  22. track — a path
  23. cue — for pool
  24. hand — in cards

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