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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. face — to confront
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pop — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — in sport
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tear — from crying
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. face — part of the head
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — soda
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cell — in biology
  24. net — after costs

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