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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. ground — a position
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. kick — in football
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ground — the earth
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. tear — to rip
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. tear — from crying

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