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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. land — a country
  4. lean — thin
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kick — in football
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cell — a phone
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mine — for digging
  16. land — ground
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cell — in biology
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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