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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. kick — in football
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rush — hurry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — in biology
  20. net — for catching
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. net — after costs
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. net — in sport

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