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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. branch — a division
  18. kick — in football
  19. tear — to rip
  20. degree — from a university
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pass — a permit
  23. tear — from crying
  24. nail — for a hammer

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