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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ground — a position
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. root — the cause
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chest — a box
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. kid — to tease
  15. track — a song
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. root — of a plant
  18. kick — in football
  19. chair — a leader
  20. root — of a word
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chair — to sit on

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