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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. key — the most important part
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kick — in football
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. prune — to trim
  21. row — to paddle
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. row — a line
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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