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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spell — magic
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bass — the fish
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — low music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — the animal
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. stand — to bear
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. drill — army training
  24. mark — a grade

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