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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spell — letters
  9. row — a line
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bank — for money
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bank — of a river
  14. fall — the season
  15. row — to paddle
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. spell — magic
  18. bank — for money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kick — in football
  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