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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. row — a line
  3. face — to confront
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. row — to paddle
  7. spring — a coil
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. last — finally
  10. face — to point toward
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. spring — the season
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. last — to go on
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. kick — in football
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. last — final
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. row — a quarrel

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