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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. vault — a safe
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. object — a thing
  7. season — in sport
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — completely
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — to protest
  22. rock — a stone
  23. object — an aim
  24. season — of the year

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