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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. kick — in football
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. march — the month
  7. club — a group
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. land — a country
  11. club — for golf
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. march — music
  14. club — for dancing
  15. land — to come down
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — a video
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — a measure
  23. kid — child
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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