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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: kick · mine · race · roll · scale · bark · stand · clip

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. scale — in music
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. stand — to bear
  11. race — humankind
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — a list
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. clip — a video
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bark — to shout
  23. scale — size or range
  24. clip — for paper

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