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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: cue · kid · foot · straw · kick · clip · object · fall

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. foot — the bottom
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fall — to drop
  5. foot — a measure
  6. kid — child
  7. fall — to drop
  8. object — an aim
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cue — a signal
  11. fall — the season
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. clip — for paper
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. clip — a video
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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