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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: lie · season · clip · tube · club · kick · straw · field

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. club — a group
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tube — a container
  9. kick — in football
  10. tube — the underground
  11. clip — for paper
  12. season — of the year
  13. field — for sport
  14. club — for golf
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. club — for dancing
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. season — in sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lie — an untruth

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