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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. kid — child
  9. craft — boats
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. spring — the season
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. staff — employees
  15. spring — of water
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitch — completely
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spring — a coil

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