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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. net — in sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — in football
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rash — a series
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. net — after costs
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — a country
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rash — hasty
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. land — ground
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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