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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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. kick — with a leg
  4. root — the cause
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. root — of a word
  15. object — to protest
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. object — an aim
  21. pop — music
  22. object — a thing
  23. pop — soda
  24. root — of a plant

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