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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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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: clip · deal · wind · land · mug · game · snap · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. kick — in football
  5. game — a match
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. deal — to handle
  9. mug — a cup
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mug — a face
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. land — ground
  22. clip — a video
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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