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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kick — in football
  11. ground — a position
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. shower — rain
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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