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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mug — a cup
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — in football
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tube — a container
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. mug — to rob
  17. rock — music
  18. mug — a face
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rock — a stone
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tear — from crying
  24. face — to confront

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