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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 116 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rule — government
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rule — a law
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. calf — a young animal

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