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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · board · date · kick · hand · key · tear · lean

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. key — for a lock
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lean — thin
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — from crying
  10. key — the most important part
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. board — a committee
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. kick — in football
  21. key — in music
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. clip — a video
  24. board — to get on

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