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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mate — to breed
  3. file — a tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. file — a document
  6. sharp — clever
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a line of people
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spell — letters

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