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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. root — the cause
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. root — of a word
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rule — government
  11. kick — in football
  12. root — of a plant
  13. chest — a box
  14. rule — a law
  15. snap — to click
  16. cap — a hat
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cap — a lid

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