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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. roll — a cake
  3. land — ground
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. land — a country
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. roll — a list
  9. race — a contest
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ball — a great time
  14. drill — army training
  15. race — humankind
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kick — in football
  18. land — to come down
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bear — the animal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ball — a dance
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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