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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. band — a music group
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. last — final
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lean — thin
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — the season
  14. march — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. last — to go on
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rule — government
  23. last — finally
  24. rule — a law

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