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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: bowl · foot · bat · clip · straw · row · kick · capital

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. capital — a city
  11. row — a line
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bat — the animal
  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