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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. object — a thing
  4. bass — the fish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bass — low music
  9. chest — a box
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — a group
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. club — for golf
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — to protest
  19. kick — in football
  20. fall — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. object — an aim
  23. club — for dancing
  24. stem — a stem cell

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