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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — for digging
  12. game — a match
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. game — wild animals
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. capital — money
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. capital — a city
  24. mine — an explosive

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