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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · board · clip · kick · game · can · deal · row

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kick — in football
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. can — a tin
  10. deal — to handle
  11. can — to be able to
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. row — to paddle
  16. game — a match
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. clip — a video
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. clip — to cut
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. board — a committee
  23. row — a line
  24. straw — a straw man

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