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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lean — thin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. can — to be able to
  5. rest — a break
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. can — a tin
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ball — a dance
  16. rest — what's left
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. can — a tin
  20. ball — a great time
  21. kick — in football
  22. scale — in music
  23. game — wild animals
  24. shower — rain

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