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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. shower — to wash
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wax — to grow
  14. shower — rain
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wax — in the ear

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