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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wind — moving air
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. present — the time now
  9. scale — size or range
  10. present — there
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. kick — in football
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — a gift
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bark — to shout
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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