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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. bore — to drill
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. game — a match
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fall — the season
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. kick — in football
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bear — the animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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