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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tube — a container
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hand — help
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. kick — in football
  11. fine — high quality
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

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