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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: kick · rock · rest · fall · clip · arm · roll · branch

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — a video
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. kick — in football
  8. rock — music
  9. rest — a break
  10. roll — a list
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fall — the season
  21. branch — a division
  22. rest — what's left
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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