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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. present — a gift
  5. lean — to bend
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lean — thin
  8. kick — in football
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ball — a great time
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — a video
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. ball — a dance
  18. present — there
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. present — the time now
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cabinet — ministers

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