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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. field — a subject
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. object — an aim
  5. rule — a law
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — farmland
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. object — a thing
  13. field — for sport
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — the season
  16. bass — low music
  17. rule — government
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — a coil
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. object — to protest

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