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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: chair · nail · row · bark · calf · kick · perch · clip

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. row — a line
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. clip — a video
  9. bark — to shout
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kick — in football
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. clip — for paper
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. perch — the fish
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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