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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. board — to get on
  3. rock — a stone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. board — a committee
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kick — in football
  15. rule — a law
  16. branch — a division
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. saw — the tool
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. board — a flat piece

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