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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. season — in sport
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. deal — to handle
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — of the year
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — hasty
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — the season
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. current — electric

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