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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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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. net — after costs
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kick — in football
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. net — for catching
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. straw — a straw man

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