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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.

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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: clip · kick · hide · bat · wave · fall · wind · pit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — the season
  17. kick — in football
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kick — a thrill

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