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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fall — the season
  4. kick — in football
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — not warm
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. scale — in music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fall — to drop

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