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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · pop · kick · sharp · club · spell · craft

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pop — soda
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. craft — boats
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — in football
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pop — to visit
  13. craft — a skill
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — not warm
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — for golf
  21. pop — music
  22. spell — a short time
  23. club — a group
  24. clip — to cut

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