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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: shower · kick · file · clip · bay · race · deal · pass

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. deal — to handle
  6. file — a line of people
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. race — humankind
  9. shower — rain
  10. race — a contest
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — a video
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. kick — in football
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pass — a permit
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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