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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. bat — the animal
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. root — the cause
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. staff — employees
  13. plane — a tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. row — to paddle
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — boats
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. row — a line

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