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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: calf · wave · march · clip · cold · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — to cut
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — in football
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kick — a thrill

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