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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chest — a box
  5. kick — in football
  6. land — a country
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. land — ground
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. land — to come down
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — help
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. hand — part of the body

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