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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.

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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. season — in sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pound — a weight
  10. charge — a price
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kick — in football
  20. charge — in control
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. clip — a video
  24. charge — electricity

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