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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — to cut
  5. face — to confront
  6. row — a line
  7. kick — in football
  8. file — a tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. row — to paddle
  11. file — a line of people
  12. can — a tin
  13. dip — to sink
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. can — a tin
  17. season — of the year
  18. can — to be able to
  19. face — part of the head
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — to point toward
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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