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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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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: clip · track · lie · craft · club · bat · kick · kid

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kick — in football
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. track — a path
  5. clip — a video
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — to cut
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for dancing
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kid — to tease
  19. craft — boats
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. track — to keep track
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. craft — a skill

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