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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. staff — employees
  3. spell — letters
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. kick — in football
  6. hand — help
  7. cue — a signal
  8. staff — employees
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. hand — in cards
  15. content — happy
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. content — the amount
  20. cue — a hint
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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