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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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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: kick · spell · land · fine · track · clip · object · lash

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fine — all right
  3. object — a thing
  4. land — to come down
  5. fine — high quality
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — a video
  10. object — an aim
  11. kick — in football
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. spell — a short time
  18. object — to protest
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. track — a path
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — to cut

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