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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. key — in music
  4. kick — in football
  5. hand — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. band — a ring
  16. key — for a lock
  17. field — for sport
  18. key — the most important part
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. band — a music group
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spring — the season
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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