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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — in football
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. plane — a tool
  21. spring — the season
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. present — the time now

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