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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. drill — army training
  7. squash — to crush
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. kick — in football
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. squash — the sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — a practice

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