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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bass — low music
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. march — the month
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — a division
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. field — a subject
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — in football
  23. march — music
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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