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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: clip · calf · toast · band · spell · kick · cold · object

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. clip — a video
  3. band — a music group
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — an aim
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spell — a short time
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. toast — bread
  14. band — a ring
  15. object — to protest
  16. kick — in football
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — to cut
  24. object — a thing

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