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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — a face
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — a subject
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mug — to rob
  13. kick — in football
  14. fall — the season
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — a thrill

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