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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wake — a trail
  6. branch — a division
  7. net — for catching
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. can — a tin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. net — after costs
  16. chest — a box
  17. bound — tied together
  18. can — a tin
  19. bound — certain
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. net — in sport
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. kick — in football

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