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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bulb — for light
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. hand — help
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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