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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. last — final
  3. bass — the fish
  4. last — finally
  5. spring — a coil
  6. kick — in football
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — a box
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spring — the season
  16. bass — low music
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. last — to go on
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spring — of water

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