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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: lash · kid · file · arm · game · object · clip · kick

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. object — an aim
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. file — a document
  8. object — to protest
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. object — a thing
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. clip — a video
  24. kid — child

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