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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bear — the animal
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. hand — help
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — money
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a music group
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — in a road

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