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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 116 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: trunk · pound · season · clip · content · object · kid · kick

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. content — the amount
  5. object — an aim
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. object — to protest
  8. content — happy
  9. kid — child
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. object — a thing
  15. pound — a weight
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — for paper
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. kick — in football
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. clip — to cut

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