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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. drill — the tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — help
  13. chip — for betting
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — to rip
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. drill — army training
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chip — to eat
  24. drill — a practice

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