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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — not warm
  5. present — there
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kick — in football
  9. present — a gift
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — in biology
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cold — an illness
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. swing — music
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. present — the time now

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