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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. board — a committee
  3. lean — thin
  4. hand — help
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. board — to get on
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. stem — to come from
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kick — in football
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — to bend

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