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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kick — in football
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. chest — a box
  10. fine — all right
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bass — the fish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. prune — to trim
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bass — low music
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fine — high quality
  24. game — a match

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