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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitch — completely
  3. kick — in football
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. row — a line
  10. branch — a division
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bank — for money
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. hand — help
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hand — in cards
  21. spring — of water
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bank — of a river

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