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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: bank · clip · firm · ground · cell · tear · kick · rest

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — a position
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bank — for money
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bank — of a river
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — steady
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bank — for money
  19. firm — a company
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tear — from crying
  22. firm — decided
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cell — in biology

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