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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: march · charge · calf · clip · cell · kick · fall · present

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. charge — in control
  4. present — a gift
  5. clip — for paper
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. charge — electricity
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. march — the month
  11. present — there
  12. clip — a video
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. march — music
  15. charge — a price
  16. present — the time now
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cell — a phone
  19. clip — to cut
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — the season
  22. march — the month
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fall — to drop

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