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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. can — to be able to
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — of water
  17. prune — to trim
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. can — a tin
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. can — a tin

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