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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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Word bank
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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: chest · kick · race · clip · pop · object

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pop — to visit
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — humankind
  7. chest — of your body
  8. object — a thing
  9. pop — soda
  10. race — a contest
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. object — to protest
  13. kick — in football
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chest — a box
  17. clip — to cut
  18. object — an aim

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