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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pit — in a race
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. face — to point toward
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. face — to confront
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kick — in football
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pit — a hole
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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