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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: kick · drill · calf · last · race · squash · mate · clip

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. drill — a practice
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — a video
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mate — to breed
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. mate — a friend
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. clip — to cut
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mate — a partner
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. clip — for paper
  19. race — the arms race
  20. last — to go on
  21. kick — in football
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. kick — with a leg

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