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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 120 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: clip · ball · kick · mug · bowl · fall

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ball — a great time
  8. kick — in football
  9. clip — a video
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mug — a face
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mug — a cup
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. fall — the season
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mug — to rob

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