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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. shower — to wash
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pop — to visit
  11. field — for sport
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cap — of ice
  14. kick — in football
  15. shower — rain
  16. pop — music
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cue — for pool
  21. season — in sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cap — a hat

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