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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. bound — tied together
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tube — a container
  6. spring — of water
  7. bound — certain
  8. craft — boats
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — the season
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bound — obliged
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. craft — a skill
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. craft — a handicraft

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