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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: lash · kid · clip · fall · sharp · kick · mate · court

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mate — a friend
  13. court — of a king
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — to breed
  19. kid — child
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kick — in football
  24. clip — for paper

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