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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. game — wild animals
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wind — moving air
  11. face — to point toward
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kick — in football
  16. ground — a position
  17. game — a match
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — the earth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. face — to confront

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