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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cap — of ice
  3. band — a ring
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cap — a hat
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. band — a music group
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bark — to shout
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. snap — to click
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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