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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. object — to protest
  5. kick — in football
  6. mark — a trace
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — not warm
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. object — an aim
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stock — goods
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — a grade
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. object — a thing

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