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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — a match
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitch — completely
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. saw — the tool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. game — a kind of play

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