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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 120 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: pass · clip · squash · kick · calf · file · chair · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pass — a permit
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. clip — to cut
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. squash — to crush
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kick — in football
  20. ball — a dance
  21. clip — a video
  22. file — a tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. file — a document

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