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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. craft — boats
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bear — the animal
  9. root — of a plant
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. root — of a word
  18. hand — help
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. pop — soda
  22. kick — in football
  23. hand — in cards
  24. root — the cause

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