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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. charge — a price
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fall — the season
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kick — in football
  7. hand — help
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. charge — electricity
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. charge — in control
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fine — all right
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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