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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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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 · arm · drill · kick · net · trunk · court · wake

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wake — a trail
  6. clip — a video
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. net — in sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. court — of law
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. net — after costs
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. drill — army training
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. net — for catching
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. court — for sport

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