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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: kick · net · march · clip · cell · rush · stick · stem

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — a video
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. net — after costs
  9. march — music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rush — hurry
  12. net — in sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. net — for catching
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kick — in football

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