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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cap — a lid
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — in football
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rest — a break
  10. cue — a signal
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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