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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — a video
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. hand — help
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — in cards
  22. content — the amount
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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