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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. lean — to bend
  4. march — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lean — thin
  10. spell — letters
  11. stem — to come from
  12. march — the month
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. march — the month
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. kick — in football
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kid — child

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