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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: kick · safe · bat · lash · pitch · chip · clip · spell

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. safe — out of danger
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spell — magic
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chip — to eat
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. kick — in football
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. clip — a video
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lash — to lash out
  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