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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: arm · calf · clip · bat · kick · spring · track · mouse

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — a video
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kick — in football
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spring — the season
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spring — of water
  16. track — a path
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. track — a song
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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