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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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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: race · kick · stand · band · drill · calf · clip · file

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. kick — in football
  5. file — a document
  6. race — the arms race
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a tool
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — a contest
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. drill — army training
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — humankind
  21. band — a music group
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stand — to bear
  24. drill — the tool

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