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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kick — in football
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cold — an illness
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bark — to shout
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kid — child
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kid — to tease
  23. toast — bread
  24. fan — a supporter

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