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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cell — in biology
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — a position
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pit — a hole
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. squash — to crush
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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