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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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468
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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. scale — in music
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kick — in football
  6. shower — to wash
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. file — a document
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — rain
  16. scale — size or range
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitch — completely
  21. file — a tool
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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