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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. tube — a container
  3. wound — an injury
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. hand — help
  8. last — finally
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. last — final
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. deal — to handle
  17. last — to go on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tube — the underground
  24. prune — to trim

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