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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: press · lean · pound · calf · rash · kid · clip · kick

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. clip — to cut
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. lean — thin
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — child
  19. rash — a series
  20. press — newspapers
  21. rash — hasty
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. kick — in football
  24. kid — to tease

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