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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mark — a trace
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. spring — the season
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. root — the cause
  12. mark — a grade
  13. kick — in football
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. root — of a word
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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