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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · stick · clip · kick · nail · pit

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — a video
  11. kick — in football
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — to cut
  18. nail — for a hammer

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