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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: pop · kick · clip · pit · kid · rush · coach · march

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — to cut
  17. march — music
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — child
  21. kick — in football
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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