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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. object — an aim
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. object — to protest
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — to confront
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mark — a trace
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. face — part of the head
  16. object — a thing
  17. hand — in cards
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. hand — help
  22. kick — in football
  23. cell — in biology
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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