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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. 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. land — to come down
  2. row — to paddle
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cell — in biology
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — from a university
  11. land — ground
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. land — a country
  19. degree — temperature
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kick — in football
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. 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