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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bore — to tire
  9. last — finally
  10. pop — music
  11. rule — a law
  12. kick — in football
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rule — government
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pop — soda
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pitch — a sports field

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