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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 124 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. game — wild animals
  3. prune — to trim
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — army training
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. staff — employees
  9. plane — a tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — of water
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spring — a coil
  18. drill — the tool
  19. staff — a stick
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. game — a match

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