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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rock — a stone
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cold — an illness
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — in music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pop — music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rock — music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rest — a break
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mark — to pay attention

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