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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. deal — to handle
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. row — a line
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. root — of a plant
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. root — the cause
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. root — of a word
  24. row — to paddle

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