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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. present — the time now
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. present — there
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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