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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bass — low music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. chest — a box
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bat — in an idiom

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