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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. charge — in control
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. kick — in football
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. charge — a price

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