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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: fan · track · bear · wake · chest · clip · scale · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. scale — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kick — in football
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. track — a song
  19. clip — a video
  20. track — a path
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — for paper
  24. track — to keep track

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