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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: clip · arm · racket · can · kick · cell · pit · rule

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rule — a law
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — a video
  8. can — to be able to
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. can — a tin
  14. cell — a phone
  15. kick — in football
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rule — government
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pit — a hole
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cell — in a prison

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