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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: fine · saw · kid · row · cabinet · sharp · kick · clip

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — child
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. saw — the tool
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fine — all right
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kick — in football
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. row — a line
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. clip — a video
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fine — high quality

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