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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. land — to come down
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. mate — a friend
  9. land — ground
  10. clip — a video
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pound — a weight
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — a country
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spell — a short time
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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