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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 · mouse · leaves · roll · wound · calf · clip · pound

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wound — an injury
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pound — a weight
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. roll — a cake
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. roll — a list
  24. pound — to hit hard

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